The perfect crème brûlée

Preheat the oven to 160°C. 

Prepare your ramekins in a Bain Marie (large oven tray about half full of water).
In a medium sized pot, place the cream on a low heat.  Slice the vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds and add the seeds and the pod to the cream and allow to infuse as the cream comes up to boiling slowly. 
The vanilla can be replaced with sliced ginger and lemongrass to make an Asian inspired brûlée.  

While the cream is coming up to the boil, separate your eggs and place the yolks in a large bowl with the castor sugar.  Whisk briefly to combine, remove the cream from the heat and sieve it into the yolks. Mix immediately to prevent the eggs from cooking.  Do not whisk too much as you do not want bubbles on the top.

Pour the custard into the ramekins and place the Bain Marie in the oven for 30 minutes.  Remove the custards from the oven while they are still wobbly.  Leave to cool in the warm water.

Recipe reprinted with permission of Julie Donald.
 
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